The Beautiful Sculpture of Arjuna"s Penance, Mamallapuram
Arjuna's Penance is a marvelously sculptured rock and it is located in Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram that is at a distance of 58 kilometers from Chennai, the Capital of Tamil Nadu. This is an extraordinary rock of about 96 feet long and 43 feet high. The Arjuna's Penance was carved in the mid of seventh century, which is the biggest sculpture of open air rock in the World.
Mamallapuram is a small town having its location near Chennai. It has wide range of monumental marvels of the Pallava kings. The successors of Pallava Kings that is Narasimhavarman and Mahendravarman have built plenty of monuments including monoliths, cave temples, rathas and many more. The Arjuna's Penance is the most famous monument in Mamallapuram.
There is plenty of school of thoughts over the Arjuna's Penance theme. All of them have their own belief regarding Arjuna's Penance. One such belief is that the sculpture depicts Arjuna attempting penance to hold a weapon against enemies and others believe that it portrays the legend of Ganga River's descent to earth. Whatever the belief is, one thing that nobody can deny is that the Arjuna's Penance is the most beautifully carved sculpture in the world.
Composition of Arjuna's Penance
This rock encompasses sculptured figures that are very skillfully carved. There are more than one hundred figures of flying celestial creatures, Gods, birds and animals that include human beings, saints and elephants.
The rock has two halved separated by natural cleft. The cleft represents the descent of Celestial River. Most of the celestial and animal figures have been carved in such a way that they are either approaching or facing the cleft. It is filled with the slab sculptured with female and male nagas (serpents) with hands together in the worship. On its left it has four armed deity that is believed to be Lord Shiva. On the right side of Shiva there is a weapon and his left hand is granting blessing. On the right side of Shiva, Bhagiratha and Arjuna stand on one leg along with upraised arm in a yoga posture.
Beneath this beautiful figure, there is the sculpture of Lord Vishnu. In front of this shrine, there are several figures that include sages, a dog, a buck, and a lion. On the left side of these carvings, there are few animals resting. The upper side of the rock portrays a mountain that is believed to be the adobe of Shiva in Himalayas.
There are several scenes from fables of Panchatantra such as a cat story, where the cat is doing penance on one leg. Moreover, on the right side on a platform there are large group of monkeys pluming each other, which is outstanding.
How to Reach
There are plenty of ways to reach Arjuna's Penance, some of them are mentioned below.
Air Transport €" Mamallapuram is located approximately 60 kilometers from the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. People can easily take flights from Chennai to any part of India and aboard. You can hire a bus or cab to reach the Chennai city. You can avail the bus facility through online bus booking services too.
Rail Transport €" The Chengalpattu is the nearest railway station of Mamallapuram on a distance of just 29 Kilometers.
Road Transport €" Mamallapuram has good network of roads towards all the major cities in Tamil Nadu. There is also booking bus tickets online option, which is very easy and convenient.
Mamallapuram is a small town having its location near Chennai. It has wide range of monumental marvels of the Pallava kings. The successors of Pallava Kings that is Narasimhavarman and Mahendravarman have built plenty of monuments including monoliths, cave temples, rathas and many more. The Arjuna's Penance is the most famous monument in Mamallapuram.
There is plenty of school of thoughts over the Arjuna's Penance theme. All of them have their own belief regarding Arjuna's Penance. One such belief is that the sculpture depicts Arjuna attempting penance to hold a weapon against enemies and others believe that it portrays the legend of Ganga River's descent to earth. Whatever the belief is, one thing that nobody can deny is that the Arjuna's Penance is the most beautifully carved sculpture in the world.
Composition of Arjuna's Penance
This rock encompasses sculptured figures that are very skillfully carved. There are more than one hundred figures of flying celestial creatures, Gods, birds and animals that include human beings, saints and elephants.
The rock has two halved separated by natural cleft. The cleft represents the descent of Celestial River. Most of the celestial and animal figures have been carved in such a way that they are either approaching or facing the cleft. It is filled with the slab sculptured with female and male nagas (serpents) with hands together in the worship. On its left it has four armed deity that is believed to be Lord Shiva. On the right side of Shiva there is a weapon and his left hand is granting blessing. On the right side of Shiva, Bhagiratha and Arjuna stand on one leg along with upraised arm in a yoga posture.
Beneath this beautiful figure, there is the sculpture of Lord Vishnu. In front of this shrine, there are several figures that include sages, a dog, a buck, and a lion. On the left side of these carvings, there are few animals resting. The upper side of the rock portrays a mountain that is believed to be the adobe of Shiva in Himalayas.
There are several scenes from fables of Panchatantra such as a cat story, where the cat is doing penance on one leg. Moreover, on the right side on a platform there are large group of monkeys pluming each other, which is outstanding.
How to Reach
There are plenty of ways to reach Arjuna's Penance, some of them are mentioned below.
Air Transport €" Mamallapuram is located approximately 60 kilometers from the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai. People can easily take flights from Chennai to any part of India and aboard. You can hire a bus or cab to reach the Chennai city. You can avail the bus facility through online bus booking services too.
Rail Transport €" The Chengalpattu is the nearest railway station of Mamallapuram on a distance of just 29 Kilometers.
Road Transport €" Mamallapuram has good network of roads towards all the major cities in Tamil Nadu. There is also booking bus tickets online option, which is very easy and convenient.
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